Hurricane Sandy is currently located 40 miles south of Atlantic City, moving west-northwest at 28 mph. Landfall is expected to occur in the next two hours, somewhere along the southern New Jersey coast or just south of it.

Maximum sustained winds remain at 90 mph with higher gusts, and it is not expected to weaken until landfall, according to a 5 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Floodwaters are rising rapidly along the New Jersey coast as the evening high tide approaches, and some areas are nearing all-time record high water marks.

While rains may subside in the coming hours, winds and coastal flooding could worsen. Already, wind gusts of over 70 mph have been recorded up and down the New Jersey coast, according to data from the state climatologist’s office. Wind gusts over 75 mph could be felt across the state and coastal flooding is still forecast to be the worst in history in some places and could be accompanied by waves of up to 15 feet.

During a press briefing earlier this evening, Gov. Chris Christie said a woman evacuated on Sunday in Atlantic City had died.

"It appears that she just died of a heart attack, but we don't have final reports on cause," the governor said. No other deaths were immediately reported.

However, two National Guardsmen suffered minor injuries this morning when a Honda Civic pulled out in front of their two-ton U.S. Army vehicle suddenly in Upper Township, Cape May County, State Police Lt. Stephen Jones said. The driver of the Honda is in stable condition at Atlantic City Medical Center and the guardsmen were treated at Cape May Regional Medical Center, Jones said.

State Emergency Management spokeswoman Mary Goepfert said about 115,000 residents were ordered to evacuate the state’s barrier islands, and local officials ordered many more in their towns. It was not known how many heeded the warning. She said more than 2,200 people were in shelters statewide.

At a press briefing at 5 p.m., Gov. Chris Christie announced that the New Jersey Turnpike is now shut down between Exit 7A and Exit 8 in Mercer County because of flooding.

Sandy was one component of what forecasters expected would become a massive storm over the eastern third of the United States with damaging winds, flooding and prolonged power outages. By late this morning, he National Hurricane Center said Sandy had strengthened with winds of 90 mph.

OUTLOOK: Sandy is expected to make landfall near Atlantic City by 6 p.m. today. Forecasters are warning the New Jersey coast will be hit by powerful winds and a storm surge that could be life-threatening

Source: National Hurricane Center

Forecasters are calling it the largest hurricane to every hit the state and its massive impact was almost immediate.

As of 6:30 p.m., roughly 664,000 utility customers were without power. Jersey Central Power & Light is reporting 393,265 customers without service, mostly in Ocean and Monmouth counties. Atlantic City Electric has 114,871 outages, centered mainly in Atlantic County, while Public Service Electric & Gas says 156,000 customers are without power.

The utilities say it may take until Wednesday before their crews can make a full assessment of the damage. Nearly 2 million customers lost power when Tropical Storm Irene hit the state last year.

Flooded out cities, including Atlantic City and Hoboken, have begun imposing 6 p.m. curfews on all residents, a day after many other towns banned vehicular travel.

"I have never seen so much water in the inlet," said Bob McDevitt, president of the main Atlantic City casino workers union and a lifelong Atlantic City resident, who was riding out the storm in his home. "When I think about how much water is already in the streets, and how much more is going to come with high tide tonight, this is going to be devastating."

Much of the Garden State Parkway , from Exit 129 south to Cape May, was closed off as the storm rolled in, and state officials announced that courthouses would be shuttered on Tuesday, for a second day. All schools were closed today and State Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf encouraged any districts still undecided about Tuesday to close again.

"In light of the worsening conditions due to Hurricane Sandy, I am strongly encouraging all superintendents and charter schools across the state to cancel school tomorrow," Cerf said in a statement.

Thousands of New Jerseyans had evacuated as the dire hurricane warnings began to hold true, and Shore communities were virtual ghost towns by midday.

In Atlantic City, the historic boardwalk remained mostly intact, despite rising floodwaters and an old, 50-foot section at the north end that broke up and washed away. Officials instituted a 6 p.m. curfew.

"It looks like it’s going to be worse than the storm of‘62, which was monumental," said Willie Glass, Atlantic City’s public safety director. "Saving lives and making sure everyone is safe is our priority."

Ahead of the storm, President Obama on Sunday signed an emergency declaration for New Jersey, after having earlier assured Gov. Chris Christie that the state would receive federal funding.

Streets flooding in Atlantic City as Hurricane Sandy approachesHurricane Sandy is fast approaching the New Jersey coast. Early morning high tides and the approaching storm has created flooding conditions in some areas of Atlantic City. The Hurricane will continue to intensify into Monday evening. (Video by Andre Malok / The Star-Ledger)

But local officials and residents say they will worry about cleanup later. Now, they are just trying to escape Sandy’s path.

In Old Bridge and East Brunswick, high winds are taking down trees, damaging homes and knocking out power. Barbara and Herman Schneider heard a tree fall this morning which took down a power line. Later this afternoon, another one, about 25 feet long, fell into their home.

"It was a real smash," Herman Schneider said. Firefighters boarded the window up and the couple is evacuating.

Old Bridge Police Lt. Robert Greenway said he expected the number of residents seeking shelter to rise sharply, especially after the mayor issued a mandatory evacuation this morning. Everyone east of Route 35 from the Morgan Bridge to Cliffwood was ordered to leave, along with residents near the South River in south Old Bridge.

But some residents simply refused to go, despite orders from local authorities and harsh words from Christie, who called the decision “stupid and selfish” early today.

Henry Rodriguez of Atlantic City was among the stragglers.

"I've been through a lot, storms and everything," said Rodriguez, 50, who watched as water crept closer to his North Montpelier Avenue home, half-a-block from Atlantic Avenue. "I'm not afraid he said. I'm not worried."

By this morning’s record high tide, nearly all the city streets were flooded, officials said, with rescue crews using lifeboats to pull some people from their homes.

“Twenty eight years on the fire department, I’ve never seen weather this bad,” Tom Foley, the city’s director of emergency management, said in an afternoon press conference.

Edward Febus, 43, waited too long to leave. Febus could be seen trudging through the wild winds in Seaside Heights early this afternoon, where flooding had thrashed the wooden boardwalk. On Sunday, he helped his famiy evacuate. Febus planned to leave today but his car didn’t cooperate.

Now it's just him and his dog sitting two blocks from the furious ocean and Sandy's rage. "She wanted me to leave yesterday but I wanted to stay and make sure the house was taken care of," he said. "Now I've got to bunker down."

Across the Hudson River, New York City was becoming a ghost town. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the Verrazano Narrows and George Washington bridges will close at 7 this evening because of the storm. The Tappan Zee Bridge shut at 4 p.m. and the Holland and Brooklyn Battery tunnels were closed at 2 p.m., a day after subway service was stopped for only the second time in history.

The Hudson River began swelling early this morning, spreading floodwaters and washing out walkways along River Road in Edgewater by the afternoon.

Few injuries have been reported so far, though in Sea Bright, firefighters rescued several people who had refused to evacuate then panicked when the winds began picking up, officials said. Flooding is so widespread there paddleboarders nearly outnumbered pedestrians . Town officials were contemplating requiring firefighters to evacuate, citing safety precautions.

"This thing is the ultimate,'' said C. Read Murphy, a councilman and deputy director of the borough's office of emergency management. “I'm going to look at this water and we might, ourselves leave here tonight."

Director of Atlantic City OEM delivers an update on the danger of Hurricane SandyHurricane Sandy is expected to create a life-threatening storm surge, heavy rain and coastal hurricane winds topping 80 MPH. Hurricane Sandy is expected to make landfall along the New Jersey coast later this evening or tonight. In addition to sustained tropical storm-force winds, the storm will produce historic surge levels along the coast. Storm track models have the hurricane making a left turn and then picking up speed as it slams into the coast. (Video by Andre Malok / The Star-Ledger)

Some of the younger firefighters are protesting, Murphy said. "They really don't have a good grasp or handle on what's going on here."

But the hurricane’s ferosity has also been a wakeup call for many residents who might have otherwise tried to ride it out, said Marilynn Fiure, who manages the Manville shelter.

Still, the borough, which is all-too-familiar with flooding. is holding out hope. Officials don’t expect the flooding to be as bad as it was for Tropical Storm Irene last year. The Millstone and Raritan rivers, which surround the borough, are "the lowest they've ever been" and should absorb the precipitation, according to Mayor Angelo Corradino.

While coastal communities were buffeted by strong winds and rain beginning early Sunday, Newark remained relatively unscathed till today. This afternoon, Orlando Nunez was relaxing, watching television when the whole house shook.
When he opened the front door his neighbor's huge tree was blocking the entrance. It had toppled the porch roof.